Anniversary Trip Post 1

I have so much to share with you about our anniversary trip to Fredericksburg, TX! Typically, we only spend about three days in our favorite city, so we were very excited to spend six days there on this trip! ! The length of this trip allowed us to fit in all of our favorite things, plus gave us time to try some new things as well! Best of all, it was a proper vacation and allowed us time to unwind and relax. Much needed for us both.

So, let's get started!

  FRIDAY, 7/31/15  

After work, we headed home to finish packing and then got on the road! We stopped at our favorite BBQ place, Mac's, for dinner and then finished the journey. We ran into a horrible storm about 45 minutes out, and it was pretty treacherous for a bit with endless lightening and thunder. We finally rode through it, but then hit a second patch closer to town. When we made it to the hotel, we checked in and then braved the rain again to make a stop at Lincoln Street, a cozy wine bar down the street. There was live music (moved inside because of the weather), and we enjoyed some yummy wine. We made a final stop at Der Daiwel, the goth bar, for a coffee to end the night.

  SATURDAY, 8/1/15  

We woke up in our favorite place!!! Chris went for a short run, and then we headed to Hilda's for delicious breakfast burritos. Shaylee and her husband, Austin, were in town for the day too (their anniversary is the same day as ours!), and they actually showed up at Hilda's at the same time! So we ate breakfast together, and that was so nice!

From there, we got ready for our day, and then headed downtown Main Street to do our shopping. We know the shops we like and the shops we don't, so it doesn't take us too long to do the strip. We found a few goodies, and snapped a few shots of the quaintness.

From there, we made our way to Grape Creek for lunch! Since our last visit, they have built a restaurant and added on to their wine club member patio. It is so nice! We had pizza and a panini there, and they were both so tasty!! Very impressed. After we ate, we moved up to the original patio, and Shaylee and Austin joined us here as well. We spent a relaxing afternoon with them, talking and laughing. Shaylee recently received a membership to the wine club for her birthday, so this was their first time on the patio. So fun!

The new restaurant at Grape Creek

Mr. Baber, starting to relax!!

The four of us then moved on to 4.0 Cellars for a change of scenery, and more wine! We bought them a bottle of wine to celebrate their anniversary, and then they headed home to Abilene. Chris and I made a final stop at Fiesta Winery, to enjoy some of their very sweet wines.

Stitch Fix tank :) and my favorite hat (wore it alllll week!) on the Fiesta Winery patio

We found out that another couple from Abilene was in town for the weekend too, so we met up with them for dinner! We went to the Brewery and enjoyed our time with James and Sandra. They were part of our original life group, and it was good to catch up with them. They are a very sweet couple! We finished the evening off with frozen yogurt, and then called it a night.

  SUNDAY, 8/2/15  

Sunday started off in the most fabulous way!! Saturday evening, Chris presented me with an anniversary gift -- a custom designed card (designed by Ms. Kathy), and it promised me a ONE HOUR massage the following morning at the Hoffman Haus spa!!! My appointment was at 11:00, and I was very impressed with the Hoffman Haus altogether. They have adorable cabins there that we may need to try out on a future visit...and the masseuse Gabby was wonderful! It was a perfect hour spent, and she worked out some of the tension in my shoulders and neck. Ahhhh!

The little cottage where the massage took place

The property was so beautiful!

While I was getting my massage, Chris enjoyed coffee on the hotel porch, in the rocking chair -- doing his reading for the upcoming management retreat at the end of the month.

For lunch, we decided to try out a new place -- Alamo Springs Cafe. A number of people had mentioned it during the trip already, so we figured we needed to try it out. Their burger was voted the best burger in Texas by Texas Monthly -- and we would both have to agree! It was pretty darn delicious!!!! The restaurant is out in the middle of nowhere, about 10 minutes from town. We pulled up to this tiny, country building...who knew! The burger was definitely worth the drive!

I had my burger with blue cheese crumbles and avocado...mmmmmm!

With our bellies full, we decided to go to Pedernales Cellars...we have been to this winery before, but it has been a few years. The view there is incredible, but the atmosphere/wine isn't our favorite. We each had a glass of wine on their deck, and then decided to move on.

This photo doesn't do the Pedernales view any justice...it is so pretty!

Afterwards, we decided to try another new thing -- Hilmy Cellars. This one is pretty new, and we were glad that we stopped! It is small, but has a lot of character. There were three huge white dogs inside, laying on the cool tile underneath the big fans. We learned that the winery doesn't use pesticides to keep the birds away from their grapes -- instead, they have chickens, guinea, and the three dogs to run the vines all night. So during the day, the dogs rest up in the cool room, and then at 6:00 pm they are turned loose to work!

Inside at Hilmy

On the hay bales, on the Hilmy patio

One of the three big Hilmy dogs -- this is Simon, and then there was Lucy and Bella as well.

Chris really liked the wine at Hilmy -- he did a tasting
and bought some bottles to enjoy at home

One of the hard working chickens at Hilmy!

For dinner, we decided to try something new as well! Not only new in Fredericksburg, but something that neither of us has ever eaten before -- Thai food! Oddly enough, there is a Thai restaurant in this German town, and the food was pretty good! To finish off the evening, we had a few non-wine drinks at the Silver Creek bar, and then coffee at the goth bar. Their sweet yellow lab, Trinket, was there and we enjoyed loving up on her! She has gotten FAT! But everyone loves Trinket, the bar dog...she is very popular! She walks in and everyone says, "TRINKET!!"

So that concludes post #1 -- stay tuned for more trip details!